A coaching position has an expiry date, but unlike yogurt, unfortunately you don’t know the exact date! In Edmonton, Jay Woodcroft learned his appointment was scheduled for November 12, 2023.
All layoffs affect me personally as I have experienced this throughout my career. So I know very well that the life of a trainer is not always easy. Every layoff causes collateral damage to your family and loved ones. I sympathize with Woodcroft, who was given his first opportunity in the NHL. The young coach also achieved great things last season. But it changes so quickly! We are never safe from a perfect storm like the one that hit Edmonton this year.
We see this being a recurring problem with the Oilers. That’s already five different coaches for Connor McDavid, who is entering his ninth season in the NHL. Before Woodcroft was replaced by Kris Knoblauch last week, Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock and Dave Tippett took turns behind the bench since McDavid’s arrival in Edmonton.
In comparison, Sidney Crosby has only been managed by four men in his 18-year career since 2015: me, Dan Bylsma, Mike Johnston and Mike Sullivan.
Lack of leadership?
Once a good leader matures, he always supports his coach by taking leadership of the group. If we compare the two cases, we see that McDavid does not have the same leadership status as Crosby. From the outside looking in, this is a worrisome situation for the Oilers.
For an organization to be successful, an exceptional player like McDavid must play a key role, as Crosby has long done in Pittsburgh, but that takes a lot of maturity. Apparently McDavid doesn’t have enough…
Although expectations are high in Edmonton, my hope for the Oilers and their fans is that Knoblauch can stabilize the team and allow them to move in the right direction. He and McDavid have known each other for a long time, which could certainly help the club’s cause. It is important that the coach and his captain build a solid relationship of trust. It definitely shouldn’t be a country club.
Leave Slafkovsky alone!
Now let’s move on to the Canadiens and Juraj Slafkovsky, who is, to say the least, causing excitement in Montreal.
Every day when I read all the texts and comments demeaning Slafkovsky, my first reaction is always: “Poor little guy.”
Can we please calm down? He is still very young, he is only 19, so we are giving him the chance to have fun and improve in a healthy environment. In short, put yourself in his shoes before publicly criticizing him.
When I see the repeated criticism of him, it comes to mind. I’m sorry. It must be hard on his ego.
Before you write things that could hurt a young person and make assumptions, you need to make sure you are aware of the situation. But like me, you have to be immersed in the pot for years to know what’s really going on with the people around CH. Otherwise, it’s like playing platform manager, and it’s not constructive at all.
